Opia (ON HOLD)

Chapter 5 - Whitefish Daily News

Paul Norton poked his head around the door into Principal Tucker's office. "Hey Rich, do you have a minute?"

"Sure, Paul. What's up?"

"We got a new student today, Brie Ranger. The cumulative folder hasn't arrived yet; do we know anything about her?"

Rich pulled off the glasses riding low on his nose, set them down on the cluttered desk, and leaned back in his chair until it squeaked. "Not exactly."

What did that mean? He implied they knew something, but he--what? He didn't want to say what it was? Didn't want to pass on unsubstantiated rumors? His Spidy senses hadn't failed him. There was something going on with the girl.

"I have some concerns. Can I talk to you about her?"

"Sure." Rich motioned 'come in' with two fingers.

Paul closed the door behind him and sat down in one of "hot seat" chairs opposite the principal.

"Brie showed up late today to second period with a fat lip. Do we know if there's a problem at home?"

"I'm not aware of any. She tripped on the bus this morning and hit her mouth."

That had to suck for a first day. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something more to the story. "Do we know how she tripped?"

Rich considered the question. "The accident report indicated she caught her foot under the seat. Why?"

"I got a really strange vibe from her this morning. She wouldn't look at me. When I talked to her she wouldn't make eye contact, even when I stepped into her face to try and get her attention."

"It's her first day. Maybe she's shy."

Paul shook his head slowly. "I don't think that's it. One of my other students, Jordyn Foster, caught up with her at the end of class and introduced her to a couple of the other students. She didn't seem shy then."

Richard shrugged.

"See the thing is, it makes me wonder if she's afraid of men, like maybe there's something going on we should look into. Jordyn stuck real close to her when they left. We both know about her family situation. She's a sweet kid. It looked like she was trying to protect Brie from someone or something."

Richard took a deep breath. Was he weighing the implications of divulging information he shouldn't, or that he just didn't want to?

"What are you not telling me?" Paul leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "She's in my class. If there's something I should know, I'd appreciate the heads up."

Rich cocked his head to the side and frowned, deep lines forming around his mouth and over his forehead. "Look. I can't answer those questions because I don't know. Birdy told me we had a new student. I'm not familiar with the girl; though, her family has history in Whitefish. Her grandfather and grandmother came here about to fifty years ago. Their daughter Ella attended school at PH. Ella was a good student until high school. I had just become principal when she started her senior year. She ran into some trouble. Started failing classes and stopped coming to school. She ran away from home, I think to California, and had Brie the following year.

"From what you're telling me I think you're right. There's enough we do know to indicate a follow through is in order. Her cum folder may shed some light," Rich said.

"I'd rather not wait for it. I'll call her old school and see if I can get someone to pull her file and talk to me."

"Okay. Let me know what you find out."